AMD FX 6100 & 660 SLI

snips86x · 26 Feb 2013 at 14:06

This a general question, I'm planning on going SLI with my 660, card being ordered tomorrow, and have only just considered a potential bottleneck problem.

My FX6100 is currently overclocked to 4ghz and once I've got the Antek Khuler 620, I'm planning to overclock it further, aiming for 4.4ish.

Would I have an issue with a bottleneck here?

I cannot really find any tangible evidence to suggest there would be or how to even find out, though the use of a chart or something else.

OliverDavis · 26 Feb 2013 at 14:12

Posted this recently in another thread. I have the FX-4170, so any game that uses 4 cores or less we would be in the same boat..

OliverDavis said:
A Single 660 is equivalent to a slightly overclocked 560ti, I run 2 560ti 2Gb Cards in SLI and mine occasionally bottlenecks in BF3. I have overclocked my CPU to 4.8Ghz which seems to be a nice match, as on BF3 I get about 85% CPU and 99% GPU's. With Ultra @ 1920*1080 I get an average of 65Fps in multiplayer, dips down to 55Fps rarely.

Hope this gives you a little insight. If you were buying now then you would be buying a maxed out system that would bottleneck on any sign of an upgrade apart from CPU.

I think a 4.6Ghz overclock would eliminate any bottleneck for games using more than 4 cores, e.g. Battlefield 3.

OliverDavis · 26 Feb 2013 at 14:15

Also you should be able to get 4.4-4.6Ghz with a Antek 620 no problem.

Remember, Voltages under 1.5v, and max temp on prime 60'c for these chips

snips86x · 26 Feb 2013 at 14:16

OliverDavis said:
Posted this recently in another thread. I have the FX-4170, so any game that uses 4 cores or less we would be in the same boat..

I think a 4.6Ghz overclock would eliminate any bottleneck for games using more than 4 cores, e.g. Battlefield 3.

lol, funnily enough, I did find that thread and obviously didn't read far enough down.

Would 4.6 be safe on a chip like the 6100? Would the Antec Khuler 620 be sufficient?

OliverDavis said:
Also you should be able to get 4.4-4.6Ghz with a Antek 620 no problem.

Remember, Voltages under 1.5v, and max temp on prime 60'c for these chips

Yeah, that is what I'm worried about!

This then leads me to a hard choice. SLI 660 with a massive o/c or new monitor and wait to upgrade to the 4570k/4770k.

OliverDavis · 26 Feb 2013 at 14:24

snips86x said:
lol, funnily enough, I did find that thread and obviously didn't read far enough down.

Would 4.6 be safe on a chip like the 6100? Would the Antec Khuler 620 be sufficient?

4.6Ghz would be safe if you put a decent bit of time in to your overclock, a 1.485vCore is what I run at 4.8Ghz, so I am quite sure you could get 4.6Ghz with a similar or lower vCore. Test in prime95 for stability + temps, if stable, drop the vCore down a notch. I'm sure I could drop the vCore a fair bit in mine, but im happy with the temps and haven't had the time.

Most Bulldozer Overclockers only change the multiplier, as this is the easiest way to overclock, I have done this too. Also remember to turn turbo Off, and if you want to keep "cool & quiet" on, you will need a slightly higher vCore.

Cool & Quiet downclocks the CPU when not needed, reducing power and heat. I have kept this on, but its one of the reasons I have to run a 1.485vCore, or it crashes when stepping back up from a low clock.

I am no overclocking expert by far, I just have done a lot of research on these chips!

OliverDavis · 26 Feb 2013 at 14:27

snips86x said:
lol, funnily enough, I did find that thread and obviously didn't read far enough down.

Would 4.6 be safe on a chip like the 6100? Would the Antec Khuler 620 be sufficient?

Yeah, that is what I'm worried about!

This then leads me to a hard choice. SLI 660 with a massive o/c or new monitor and wait to upgrade to the 4570k/4770k.

Dont worry about it, mine hits 58'c on Prime95, but 51'c while gaming on BF3.

Many people run these chips hotter, it will just reduce the life span.

Even if you hit a constant 60'c in Prime95, you will not see those temps unless stress testing again.

Its the same with GPU's. Mine hit 81'c on Furmark with my current voltages, but gaming I have never seen them go over 71'c.

OliverDavis · 26 Feb 2013 at 14:29

Also, search around, +-4.5Ghz is pretty much the standard of a decent overclock for these chips, everyone and their dog overclocks Bulldozers past 4Ghz

They do get a little power hungry mind...

snips86x · 26 Feb 2013 at 14:42

OliverDavis said:
Also, search around, +-4.5Ghz is pretty much the standard of a decent overclock for these chips, everyone and their dog overclocks Bulldozers past 4Ghz

They do get a little power hungry mind...

I'll give it a go and see what happens. Worst comes to worst, there is a slight bottleneck still there!!

OliverDavis · 26 Feb 2013 at 14:56

snips86x said:
Would it be more sensible to wait and upgrade to Haswell/Ivy instead?

You could get the second 660 now, then upgrade to Haswell later. You would only see a 2 or so fps improvement upgrading to Haswell when released and keeping one 660 as you are currently GPU limited. Adding another 660 to your FX-6100 would make you CPU limited, so you can then start to save for Haswell for when prices drop a little while after launch.

Either way, currently, upgrading either will leave you a bottleneck with the other.

There is never a system without a bottleneck though.

If I was you, I would add another 660 now, then upgrade to Haswell at a later date. Otherwise you will be waiting for a few months to only end up GPU limited like you are now, then have to add another 660 to see the improvements Haswell will bring in games.

snips86x · 26 Feb 2013 at 15:47

OliverDavis said:
You could get the second 660 now, then upgrade to Haswell later. You would only see a 2 or so fps improvement upgrading to Haswell when released and keeping one 660 as you are currently GPU limited. Adding another 660 to your FX-6100 would make you CPU limited, so you can then start to save for Haswell for when prices drop a little while after launch.

Either way, currently, upgrading either will leave you a bottleneck with the other.

There is never a system without a bottleneck though.

If I was you, I would add another 660 now, then upgrade to Haswell at a later date. Otherwise you will be waiting for a few months to only end up GPU limited like you are now, then have to add another 660 to see the improvements Haswell will bring in games.

The choice was this or a new 24" Monitor. I think I'll have a look at the o/cing tonight and just order the 660 tomorrow. Can't wait to let rip on Dead Island Riptide & Crysis 3.

OliverDavis · 26 Feb 2013 at 16:05

On average, a GTX 660 will give about 65% of the performance a GTX 680, so in SLI you are theoretically looking at 130% of a GTX 680, take in to account 95% Scaling leaves you with about 120-125% performance!

snips86x · 26 Feb 2013 at 16:57

OliverDavis said:
On average, a GTX 660 will give about 65% of the performance a GTX 680, so in SLI you are theoretically looking at 130% of a GTX 680, take in to account 95% Scaling leaves you with about 120-125% performance!

I'm liking those odds!! Will make sure I get a 1080p monitor next month then

snips86x · 26 Feb 2013 at 19:12

So I've just done a Torture Test on Prime95 and I'm going to have a serious temp issue if I overclock this any further. I know my Arctic Freezer Pro 13 is not up to the job as per below. The temp of the CPU (TMPIN1 I think) is just around 65 after 10 mins.

Due to the RAM I'm using not being Low Profile, I'm not sure what CPU cooler to get. I've been looking at the Antec Khuler 620, but I'm not sure if it's the best solution.

What could you recommend?

Martini1991 · 26 Feb 2013 at 19:37

OliverDavis said:
Posted this recently in another thread. I have the FX-4170, so any game that uses 4 cores or less we would be in the same boat..

I think a 4.6Ghz overclock would eliminate any bottleneck for games using more than 4 cores, e.g. Battlefield 3.

Think you're over estimating a 560Ti compared to a 660.

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/660?vs=547

Although I'm not sure if I'd get the GPU or CPU yet.
I'd rather have a single better GPU, and with all the rumours going on, think you'd be best off waiting till Haswell launches before you decide what to do, as hopefully we'll have more insight into GPU's.
Of course, a 660 Sli would have brilliant performance, but could quite easily get bottlenecked with an FX6, game depending upon how badly it'll be, expect future EA titles and current EA titles such as Crysis 3/(2?) and BF3 to be fine though to an extent.

snips86x · 28 Feb 2013 at 07:08

Bought an additional GTX660 and ran in SLI. Completed Crysis 2 on Extreme and it was BEAUTIFUL!!!

Did a quick benchmark on Heaven running everything on max, CPU still clocked at 4ghz as my new cooler has not been delivered yet, but here are the results.

I did try and overclock the cards, but it seemed to crash at every available opportunity, so I've left it for now.

Will post another stock GPU bench when my new cooler has arrived.

Bacon? · 28 Feb 2013 at 07:09

Nice!

Shame you dont have a 1080P screen though.

snips86x · 28 Feb 2013 at 07:40

Bacon? said:
Nice! Shame you dont have a 1080P screen though.

Yeah, I was thinking about getting one next month, but too many other things which come first. Won't be too long though.

Looking at one of these....

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MO-050-AS&groupid=17&catid=510&subcat=

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MO-097-IY&groupid=17&catid=510&subcat=

snips86x · 28 Feb 2013 at 21:28

Ok so to all those people who I scrutinised for spec'ing the K2, I now apologise. WOW What a cooler.

Look what was waiting for me when I got home:

Immidiatley unpacked it and cannot believe the sheer size of this behemoth! It is MASSIVE!

Started the removal of the themal greese using the ArctiClean, giving a really nice citrus smell.

Stock backplate and bracket removed, K2 bracket in place and with thermal paste, waiting to be mounted...

Cooler put together and fitted...

Some of you may notice that the 120mm fan is facing the wrong way. Well....it's not any more. I did remember to reverse it to a pull not push as it would not fit over my RAM slots. As it happens, I had to remove on the heatsinks on the RAM anyway, so it really made no difference what so ever.

This is the CPU still at 4ghz with the stock fans, come this weekend, I'll be pushing for 4.4-6ghz. We'll see what happens.......fizz.....fizz....fizz......BANG!!!!

snips86x · 3 Mar 2013 at 11:10

@ 4ghz

@ 4.4ghz

Prime95 on 4.4ghz sits around 41/42 degrees. Loving the new cooler!

OliverDavis · 4 Mar 2013 at 09:48

Martini1991 said:
Think you're over estimating a 560Ti compared to a 660.

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/660?vs=547

Although I'm not sure if I'd get the GPU or CPU yet.
I'd rather have a single better GPU, and with all the rumours going on, think you'd be best off waiting till Haswell launches before you decide what to do, as hopefully we'll have more insight into GPU's.
Of course, a 660 Sli would have brilliant performance, but could quite easily get bottlenecked with an FX6, game depending upon how badly it'll be, expect future EA titles and current EA titles such as Crysis 3/(2?) and BF3 to be fine though to an extent.

Most 560ti are clocked at 900mhz+

I mention an overclocked 560ti, plus if you take in to account the ones I have are the 2Gb editions which have a higher memory bus then a 660 I think it would be safe to say I wouldnt see a difference going between a single OC'd 560ti 2Gb and a stock 660